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NZHT News

Hello again                                    Newsletter no: 31

In the last few days leading up to Christmas, there is time for just a brief update on the battle to protect the health rights of NZ from the ANZTPA proposal.

As many of you will now be aware the Government introduced the legislation necessary for them to succeed in creating ANZTPA late one night in the last few weeks of Parliament for the year with no warning and no fanfare. (NO) Thanks to a last minute deal with NZ First and United Future, the Government just managed to get the numbers it needed for the “Therapeutic Products and Medicines Bill” to pass its first reading by 61 votes to 60, showing just how tense an issue this is.

The Bill has now been sent to, of all places, the Government Administration Select Committee.  This once again demonstrates the total manipulation of the system by the Government who appear to be doing all they can to force this Bill forward without the proper consultation and review.  Indeed, we understand that if Labour had had its way the Bill would have gone through under urgency with no reference to select committee at all!

Twice before this proposal has gone to Select Committee and both times it has been deemed a health issue and sent to that committee, now that that committee keeps rejecting the proposal as bad for NZ, the Govt instead sends it - not even to the select committee for foreign treaties (which this also is) - but to the little known and of questionable relevance, Government Administration Committee.

To make matters worse a deadline for submissions has been set at 7 February 2007, meaning interested parties have only a few weeks to digest the 494 page Bill and prepare their submissions.  Clearly the Government hopes that the task will be too daunting and coming at too busy a time for many people to bother.  What they should be doing if they were in fact acting in the best interests of NZ is just the opposite.  They should be recognising the strength of feeling on this issue the important matters of sovereignty and health choices that it affects and ensuring there is a proper period of detailed discussion and consultation before the Bill is voted on - not trying to rush it through before anyone can properly assess its impact.

As ever though the NZ Health Trust will continue to challenge the proposal on its merits and will put in the necessary hours of detailed examination of the Bill so as to make as comprehensive a submission to Select Committee as we can.  Whilst our faith in the integrity of the Parliamentary process has been seriously shaken by this whole matter, we are still very positive and will continue to take every opportunity to present our concerns and with your help and continued support undertake the necessary actions to defeat ANZTA.

Thanks to all of you who attended the protest at Parliament, which received excellent media coverage and helped raise the profile of this matter.  The importance of that sort of public show of opposition cannot be underestimated.

Many thanks to all of you who have sent us emails; I am sorry that I have not been able to reply to all of them as yet.

Finally we want to take the opportunity to wish all our supporters a very Merry Christmas and wish you and your families a safe and prosperous 2007.

Kind regards
Dave Sloan

 

 
 

 

 
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